As the Deputy Editor of Leafly and the author of Weed the People and two TIME Magazine cover stories on marijuana, I focus my public speaking almost exclusively on the difficult and fascinating issues involved with the global legalization of cannabis.

I speak both as a writer and editor passionate about social justice and the change of history, and as a father of two teenagers living in the fully legal state of Washington. As an American who grew up during the "Just Say No" era and was taught to fear and loathe cannabis, this is not at all where I expected to find myself in middle age. And yet here I am, proudly and happily.